Teachers who agree to relocate to the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and Taraclia District to teach in Romanian will receive a one-off payment of 200,000 lei. The measure was approved at Wednesday’s government meeting. According to the authorities, the aim is to attract teachers to the region and ease the teacher shortage, IPN reports.

At a government meeting, Minister of Education and Research Dan Perciun said that one of the main challenges is the shortage of teachers with a sufficient command of Romanian to teach it in the region. The shortage of teaching staff also prevents more Romanian-medium classes from being opened.

The allowance will be paid in two instalments. The first will be paid once the teacher has been assigned to a post and taken up their duties, and the second after six months of service, provided they remain employed.

This support will be available to teachers who commit to working for at least five years in educational institutions in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia and Taraclia district, with a teaching workload of at least 18 hours per week. Teachers must provide written consent to relocate and teach in educational institutions in these regions. The measure does not apply to teachers already working in educational institutions there. This financial support cannot be combined with the one-off allowance granted to young professionals under another government programme.